Leon Draisaitl sets up Warren Foegele’s early goal, Adam Henrique and Zach Hyman also score and Edmonton tacks on two empty-net goals for a 5-1 Game 6 win. The winner-take-all finale is Monday night in Florida.
Leon Draisaitl made his first major impact in the Stanley Cup Final, and the series is heading back to South Florida.
Draisaitl set up Warren Foegele’s early goal, Adam Henrique and Zach Hyman scored in the second period and the Edmonton Oilers forced a Game 7 by beating the Florida Panthers, 5-1, in Game 6 on Friday night.
They are the first team to tie the final after falling behind 3-0 in the series since the Detroit Red Wings in 1945. The Oilers have the chance Monday night in Sunrise to join the 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs as the only NHL teams to come all the way back from that deficit to hoist the Stanley Cup.
“There was an unshakable belief,” Hyman said. “No matter what happened throughout the year, we always believed we could pull through. No matter how dire the circumstances, we think we have a chance. It was a long season facing adversity which prepared us. The next one will be the hardest. It feels unbelievable to do it in front of this crowd. To have a chance to win now, this is our first opportunity to win.”
The opportunity to make hockey history and end Canada’s three-decade-long Cup drought exists only after Connor McDavid’s heroics with four points apiece in Games 4 and 5 to take the Oilers from the brink to belief.
